Amusement device



D 16, 7- H. T. AUSTIN 32,7

AMUSEMENT DEVICE Filed Dec. 3,, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 HAROLD T. AUSTIN I ENTOR fidlf C ATTORNEY.

e6. FL, 194-7. H, ug-rm 2,432,79

AMUSEMENT DEVICE Filed Dec. 3, 1945 2 Sheets-Sher. 2

WARQLU MUQ QWN ,WVENTOR.

Patented Dec. 16, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 7 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in an amusement device and, more particularly, to an amusement device having controlled rotation person-carrying cars rotatable in the'plane of the wheel. This application further is to improvements in a device such as is shown in my co-pending application, Serial No. 529,301filedApril 3, 1944.

In the prior art there are rotary wheels having between the arms or spokes of said wheels person-carrying cars adapted to freely move with the wheel durin rotation thereof, and also to revolve about the axis of such a car for the pur-' pose of affording a thrilling and exciting ride. a I have found from experience that it is advisable that such Y person-carrying cars be revolvable about their axes but that this movement should be controlled in order that the passengers will not be subjected to unduly great forces and also so that they cannot, foolhardily, endanger their own lives.

Having in mind these considerations, it is the object-of the present invention'to provide an amusement device of the'type described in which the person-carrying cars are rotated about their individual longitudinal axes in the planeof the wheel, and this rotation'is controlled by camactuated means, entirely outside the control of either the operator of the wheel or the passengers.

Another object of the'present invention is to provide, in an amusement device'asdescribed, simple and efficient means, capable of ready as sembly and disassembly, for translating recipro eating motion into rotation of each car during its travel in a closed path.

The defects of the prior art are remedied and" the above mentioned'objects are obtained by means of a rotor or wheel-which is'preferably mounted in a plane vertical to-"thesurfac at a fixed point thereabove.

periphery of the wheel, and between thevarious arms and spokes ofthe wheel is a series of tanto be in simulation of an airplane;

car is provided with a sheave. main pivot of the wheel is fixedly mounted a fixed cam. Carried by the wheel is a cam-follower means cooperatively associated with the cam and reciprocably movable relative the wheel axis. In a preferred form of my-invention, I connect, from A modified form of the' invention may include the mounting of-the wheel in a horizontal plane. Located adjacent the 2 each side of "an arm comprising the cam-follower, a'cable which is suitably guided over idler sheaves and, intermediate its ends, encircling a sheave on a car. By this means reciprocating motion of the arm is translated'into a degree of rotary movement of the sheave of the'car and, hence, the car itself. By arranging the path defined by the cam, such rotation of the car can be had at anydesi'red point in the cars orbital path durin the rotation of the wheel.

A device such as that described above is more completely shown in the accompanying drawings described in detail hereafter in which Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of my amusement device;

Figure'Zis a vertical sectional view taken on lines 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a schematic perspective view of the car rotation 'means employed in my invention with certain parts shown in phantom;

Figure 4 'is an enlarged side view, partially in phantom, disclosing an arrangement where two cars may be rotated by a single cam actuated means; and

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken on lines 5 -5 of Figure 4.

Referring specifically to Figures 1 and 2, the' numerals Ill and H designate suitable base supporting means for bearings l2 in which is mounted the main shaft l3. By means of spaced-apart hub plates I4 I arrange radially on the shaft 13 a plurality of pairs of arms 15, which at the inner ends are fairly widely spaced apart but which converge at their'outer ends and join to a suitaf blehead I Gshown in Figures 1 to 4 and generally triangular in side view.

Between each pair of radial arms is mounted a'car l8; having wings l9, tail surface 20 and a' canopy 2!, and in which passengers may ride.

Each such car has at its forward and rear end a pivot pin 24'a'nd 25, respectively, which is jour-' naled in an arm end 16 for rotation; Each such car also has usually at-the forward end a sheave v 28 fixedly coupled to the car.

The shaft l3 and the radial arms and cars carried thereby are caused to'be rotated by power applied to'amain drive sheave 30 shown in Figures 1 and'2.

To one side of the rotor or wheel as described,

is mounted a cam member comprising the fixedly positioned plate 32 on which is formed a doublewalled trackii l of desired contour. This track is generally pear-shaped, and has a minor'and major curvature the-center of which is concentric Withthe axis of shaft 13, and which portions are ening turnbuckle is shown in Figure 3.

joined by compound curved intermediate trackportions which smoothly and fairly connect the two concentric portions.

On one of the legs comprising a radial arm is provided a pivot plate 40, having a loop 4| in which is pivoted the arm 42, that has roller 43 at its outer end for engagement between walls of the cam track 34. It will be seen that as the wheel rotates about its axis and the roller 43 moves in the path defined by the walls of pear-shaped camtrack 34, arm t2 intermediate its ends will reciprocate axisward or to the contrary. It is this motion which is employed to impart controlled rotation to each person-carrying car l8.

The arm 42 is guided in its reciprocation by a guide member 45 carried by the leg member opposite that to which the arm 42 is pivoted.

Translation of the reciprocating motion of arm 42 to rotary motion of the person-carrying cars is obtained by passing cable 45, coupled at E5 to arm 42, around the car sheave 28. A guide sheave 47 permits change of the direction of the cable 45 as also does the adjacent guide sheave 52 for cable portion 55.

Sheave 28 has opposed openings 48 and 39 into the hollow interior where I fixedly position a cable clamp 55. Cable 45 passes, first, one complete turn around the outside of sheave 28 thence through opening 48 to be secured by clamp 55. Similarly, cable portion 55 extends from clamp 50 out through opening 49 and is wrapped a full turn around sheave 28 before being passed over guide sheave 52 and-then axisward of the wheel. In the preferred form of my invention two cars are rotated by a single cam-actuated assembly as described. Thus, as seen in Figure 2, cable 55 is extended diametrically across the wheel for coupling with the opposite car sheave in the manner described. The cable-end returning to the cam-operated mechanism from such opposed car sheave is designated 56 and is coupled oppositely to arm 42 relative cable 45. A cable tight- Of course, it will be obvious that where there is a single car to be actuated by the cam means, the cable portions 55 and 56 will join and pass around a suitable guide or sheave in a. manner readily provided by a skilled mechanic.

The path of the cam track 34 is generally pearshaped and, in the preferred form of my invention, was laid out as follows: about the axis of the wheel an are directly thereabove of at distance Was scribed for 120 one-half to each side of a vertical plane passing through said axis; similarly a second arc of approximately 2:1 was scribed below said axis in the same manner for 120; between the ends of said opposed arcs a fair compound curve was placed and arranged to smoothly merge therewith. With this arrangement the cam-follower moving in said path is first moved from the lowermost point in its travel with the wheel through a concentric path for 60, thence inward a distance measured (2sc:c), thence for 120 in that portion of the path the radius of which is m, thence outwards a: plus (2xa:) and through the 2.1: path for either 60 if the wheel is stopped at its lowermost position, or 120 if the wheel is continued in rotation. By this arrangement the car is first turned 180 to right it through its upper orbital path, then returned 180 to again right it as normal.

In Figure 4 I have illustrated, schematicall a preferred manner of rotating the cars about their axes. In the lowermost position the car l8 appears as normal for passenger loading and for travel through the lower portion of its arcuate travel. As a car moves to the right, counterclockwise about the axis IS in this view, it be gins to also revolve clockwise about its own longitudinal axis looking along said axis from the pivot pin 25 toward pivot pin 25. As the car passes through the horizontal plane of the axis of shaft i3, it has been turned to a position just opposite that which it occupied at the start as shown in th uppermost position of Figure 4. Simultaneous with the rotation of the car through the previousl described rotation, the car diametrically opposite thereto is also turned counterclockwise about its own longitudinal axis looking along said axis from pivot pin 25 toward pivot pin 25, as schematically shown in Figure 4.

'Such rotation of the cars is obtained by reason of the intermediate ogee-shaped curves in the cam track 34 between the concentric portions whereby the cam follower roller 53 and arm 5?. is reciprocating a distance measured by the difference in radii in the minor arcuate portion as compared to that of the major arcuate portion of the cam. During the travel of the cam follower 43 through those ogee-shaped portions of the cam track which are concentric with the main shaft I3, the cars are not permitted to rotate at all.

Passengers within the cars are provided with suitable seats and suitable safety straps for holding them in place. It has been this applicants experience that an extremely different and exciting ride can be given to a person to Whom such thrills are interesting.

While I have shown and described particular embodiments of my invention, it will occur to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention. Therefore I aim in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. An amusement device, comprising: means forming a wheel, person-carrying cars arranged concentrically of the axis of said wheel in the plane thereof, means adapting each car for rotation about its longitudinal axis in the plane of said wheel, reciprocating means at the hub of said wheel, and means connected with each car and with said reciprocating means for controlling the rotation of such car.

2. An amusement device, comprising: means forming a wheel, person-carrying cars arranged concentrically of the axis of said wheel in the plane thereof, means adapting each car for rotation about its longitudinal axis in the plane of said wheel, and cam-actuatedmeans connected with each car for controlling the rotation thereof.

3. An amusement device, comprising means forming a wheel, person-carrying cars arranged concentrically of the axis of said wheel in the plane thereof, means adapting each car for rotation about its longitudinal axis in the plane of said wheel, a cam fixedly mounted adjacent the axis of said wheel, cam-follower means carried by said wheel and cooperable with said cam, and means between said cam-follower means and each car for translating reciprocating motion of the cam-follower into a controlled rotation of each car.

4. An amusement device, comprising: means forming a wheel having arms, person-carrying cars arranged concentrically of the axis of said wheel in the plane thereof between pairs of said arms, means adapting each car for rotation about its longitudinal axis, a cam fixedl mounted adjacent the axis of said wheel and defining a pearshaped path in an upright plane, a cam-follower carried by said wheel and cooperable with said means defining said path, and means between said cam-follower and a car for translating movement of the cam-follcwer into rotation of said car.

5. An amusement device, comprising: means forming a wheel having arms, person-carrying cars arranged concentrically of th axis of said wheel in the plane thereof between pairs of said arms, means adapting each car for rotation about its longitudinal axis, a cam fixedly mounted adjacent the axis of said Wheel and defining a pearshaped path in an upright plane, a cam-follower carried by said wheel and cooperable with said means defining said path, a swinging arm carried by said wheel and movable by said cam-follower, a sheave on said car, and cable means between said arm and said sheave adapted to translate reciprocating movement of the arm into rotary motion of the sheave and the car on which it is associated.

6. An amusement device, comprising: means forming a wheel having arms, person carrying cars arranged concentrically of the axis of said wheel in the plane thereof between pairs of said arms, means adapting each car for rotation about its longitudinal axis, a cam fixedly mounted adjacent the axis of said wheel and defining a pearshaped path in an upright plane, a cam-follower carried by said wheel and cooperable with said means defining said path, a reciprocating member carried by said wheel and movable by said cam-follower, a sheave on said car, and cable means between said reciprocating means and said sheave and the car on which it is associated.

7. In an amusement device, a rotor having a plurality of spaced apart radially extending arms and mounted for movement in a vertical plane, between adjacent pairs of arms a car journalled for rotation, adjacent the hub of said rotor a fixed cam means, a cam-follower carried by said rotor and cooperable with said cam, and means between said cam-follower and a car for rotation of the car during movement of said wheel in its vertical plane.

HAROLD T. AUSTIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,397,857 Hall Apr. 2, 1946 2,229,966 Eyerly Jan. 28, 1941 

